Steelers were winners, but these new flicks were not Tom VanBuren Senior Staff Writer Few years co

‘ ‘ ‘ Few years come close to 1999’s record of quality and groundbreaking movies. If Sunday’s… ‘ ‘ ‘ Few years come close to 1999’s record of quality and groundbreaking movies. If Sunday’s Super Bowl commercials were any indication, this year won’t be one of them. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Seemingly the end of an era, 1999 was a year for movies that would stand the test of time ‘mdash; well, for 10 years, at least. ‘Fight Club’ defined a generation of cynical consumers. ‘The Blair Witch Project’ made horror films scary again and inspired a new batch of faux-Handycam flicks. ‘The Matrix’ pioneered new filmmaking techniques that have since been the source of countless homage and parody, ‘American Pie’ gave new life to the once-dead R-rated teen comedy and ‘The Sixth Sense’ tricked audiences and critics alike into believing that M. Night Shyamalan was Hitchcock reborn. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Alas, those days are gone to a place of wistful nostalgia. On the first day of February, we got a bleak look at what 2009 might have in store. The Super Bowl has long been a venue for premiering big-name movie previews, as the Oscars don’t allow them during its broadcast ‘mdash; until this year, anyway. Maybe studios are holding out for Oscar night to let loose their best trailers (unlikely), because Sunday night had little of interest to broadcast during the commercial breaks. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Of the nine movie previews, four were sequels, four were based on TV shows from your youth, and one featured an especially groan-worthy scat joke. How could this happen? ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The most egregious offenders were unquestionably ‘GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra’ and ‘Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,’ and not because of their long, silly titles. The success of 2007’s ‘Transformers’ apparently has Hollywood thinking it’s a sound investment to take a 1980s franchise and add some cleavage and an overblown sense of seriousness. Maybe it is ‘mdash; ‘Transformers’ was practically a license to print money for the studio. But is it the right approach for every franchise? ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ If ever there was a franchise to be given the Michael Bay ‘boobs and explosions’ treatment, it’s the one about giant magical fighting robots from space. But somehow, ‘GI Joe’ looks silly by comparison ‘mdash; ridiculous vehicular stunts, a Wayans brother, a ninja and a foxy female soldier whose body armor includes a plunging neckline. All of this is on the payroll of the U.S. military? We’re in a recession, people. Ninjas aren’t cheap. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘Transformers’ worked ‘mdash; kind of ‘mdash; because somehow, deep down inside, people can buy the concept of magic robots. It’s a stretch, but hey, I’ve never seen a giant transforming robot before, so who am I to judge their authenticity? The only unbelievable thing a human did in that movie was Shia LaBeouf scoring a date with Megan Fox. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ It’s fairly well established that ninjas and sexy she-spies are rare at best. Insinuating that they all traipse about in matching leather outfits taking orders from Dennis Quaid is asking just a little too much. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ Questions of believability aside, not much looked any better on Sunday night, save for the new ‘Star Trek’ reboot that has the loins of many a geek positively quivering in anticipation. Maybe ‘Star Trek’ is the sign that this year won’t be so bad after all. Sure, it’s a young-blooded, sexed-up version of an old series, but that alone doesn’t mark it for failure ‘mdash; after all, six of the top 10 grossing movies of 1999 were remakes and sequels. Give Captain Kirk a giant robot to grapple with, and this could be an all right year for movies after all.